Crossword puzzles and word games are universally enjoyed by people of various ages for entertainment purposes. As a result, countless numbers of crossword puzzles and word games have been developed over the years. The objective of most crossword type puzzles is to complete a pattern or grid with alphabet letters to form words that correspond to one or more clues. The objective of many word games is to form a word on a playing surface from alphabet letters provided to a participant. The alphabet letters are provided to the participant, for example, by rolling one or more playing die having alphabet letters printed thereon or by selecting playing pieces from a plurality of tiles imprinted with alphabet letters. Typically, the letters are given different point values so that a “Word Score” may be determined and awarded to a participant based on the difficulty of the letters and the number of letters used to form the word. Regardless, an objective common to both crossword puzzles and word games is for a participant to form words from ordinary alphabet letters. While crossword puzzles and word games having the objective of forming words from alphabet letters are quite common, there are very few puzzles or word games that require a participant to identify words formed from alphabet letters.
A word-forming game that also requires a participant to identify the word from only a portion of the word is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,267,340 B2 issued Sep. 11, 2007, to Hyra et al. and assigned to The Upper Deck Company of North Las Vegas, Nev. Hyra et al. disclose an interactive word-forming game wherein a first participant obtains a plurality of game pieces (tiles) having word-forming indicia (one or more ordinary alphabet letters) printed thereon. The first participant positions one of the game pieces on a pre-designated position of a game board to partially form a word. A second participant then chooses between two options: (1) attempting to identify the word; and (2) asserting that no word can be formed from the game piece. If the second participant chooses the first option, the first participant either (a) admits that the second participant correctly identified the word; or (b) positions a second game piece on the game board adjacent the first game piece to partially or completely form the same word, or a different word. If the second participant chooses the second option, the first participant either (a) admits that no word can be formed form the first game piece; or (b) positions one or more other game pieces on the game board adjacent the first game piece to completely form the word.
Hyra et al. teach a word game that involves both forming a portion of a word from a plurality of alphabet letters and identifying the word from the portion of the word positioned on the game board. It would seemingly be a trivial task, however, for the second player to identify the word if the alphabet letters placed on the game board revealed the entire word instead of only a portion of the word. Although not immediately obvious, the task could be made more difficult if the alphabet letters partially or completely forming the word were positioned on the game board in random order (i.e. scrambled). In this manner, the level of difficulty of the game could be adjusted to appeal to participants having a broader range of skill levels. A Word Score could then be awarded to the participant attempting to identify the word based on the difficulty of the letters and/or the number of letters used to form the word, as well as whether the letters were scrambled or not. Unfortunately, as yet there is no known crossword puzzle or word game that requires a participant to identify a word formed from ordinary alphabet letters wherein the level of difficulty of the word can be varied to accommodate participants having a broad range of skill levels.
Accordingly, it is apparent a need exists for a word game that requires a participant to identify or decipher a word formed from a plurality of alphabet letters. A further need exists for such a word game wherein the level of difficulty of the word to be deciphered can be varied to accommodate a broad range of skill levels. A specific need exists for a word game that utilizes stylized alphabet letters to form a word that is not readily identifiable, thereby increasing the level of skill required of a participant to decipher the word.